After rejecting all 13 companies that applied to become the Montenegro CIP’s official provider of due diligence services in March this year, the government’s Secretariat for Special Projects has announced that it received 11 correctly filed applications by the April 1st deadline, from which it has selected two companies, one based in Canada, the other

Having rejected the applications of all 13 prospective due diligence providers for the Montenegro Citizenship by Investment Program, the Secretariat for Special Projects calls on candidates to submit their applications – this time filled out to the letter – before April 1st.

The government of Montenegro today announced it will be accepting applications from prospective intermediary agents, as well as due diligence companies, for its new citizenship by investment program. Prospective service providers must lodge an application by February 1st. Originally slated for a premiere in October 2018, Montenegro’s new CIP – technically named The Special Investment

In an interview with TVM yesterday, Charles Mizzi, Chief Communications Officer of the Malta Individual Investor Programme Agency (MIIPA), revealed that Malta had turned down two applicants – one from North Africa, the other from Asia – even though the individual in question had previously received approvals from other programs. The decision, Mizzi told TVM,

In response to today’s report from Transparency International – European Getaway; Inside the Murky World of Golden Visas – Malta’s government has issued the following statement: Press Statement issued by the Government of Malta Reaction to the report ‘European Getaway – Inside the Murky World of Golden Visas’ published by Transparency International and Global Witness 2018 The

Thomas Anthony – a seasoned veteran of the citizenship by investment due diligence field – starts his new job as CEO of the Grenada Citizenship by Investment Unit today. “Starting tomorrow, I will be the CEO of the Grenada CBI Unit. So looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and colleagues and furthering the relationships

This article was contributed by Dr Jean-Philippe Chetcuti, Managing Partner at Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates. Designed to attract foreign investment and fueling countries’ economic growth, the investment migration industry faces increased scrutiny by supranational organizations like the OECD and the EU. Earlier this year, the OECD launched a consultation process to investigate concerns relating to potential tax

Many of the world’s citizenship by investment programs (CIPs) impose restrictions on the countries and territories from which they accept applications. We’ve compiled an overview. Citizens of a country (and, in some cases, territories, such as Chechnya) are either eligible, ineligible, or partly eligible to apply for a citizenship program; While some programs impose blanket

Antigua & Barbuda’s prime minister Gaston Browne says he welcomes the Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s (ECCB) initiative to investigate whether Caribbean citizenship by investment programs (CIPs) are following through on their commitment to have each applicant reviewed by regional security organizations. Last week, Grenadian prime minister Keith Mitchell – who has

Indian officials have received confirmation from Antigua that Mehul Choksi is in the country and will move to request extradition soon. The Antigua & Barbuda CIU, meanwhile, has issued a press release explaining the due diligence conducted on Mr. Choksi, and what they discovered during the process. For background on the Choksi-case, see Due Diligence Blunder?

Having recently taken over the chairmanship of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s (ECCB’s) Monetary Council, Prime Minister Keith Mitchell of Grenada has announced he will be launching an inquiry into whether all the region’s citizenship by investment programs (CIPs) are making it mandatory for their applicants to go through regional security due diligence, as they

Opinion of the Editor: The Antigua & Barbuda CIU came under fire this week after revealing they had granted citizenship to a man – wanted by Indian authorities over an alleged fraud case – months before any suspicion was raised. That’s unreasonable. Indian businessman Mehul Choksi stands accused of defrauding the Punjab National Bank of

This article was contributed by L. Burke Files, President of the International Due Diligence Organization To a jurisdiction offering citizenship by investment, the risks associated with inadvertently granting citizenship to an “undesirable” are both great and many; They range from domestic and international political embarrassment to severe damage to the value of a nation’s citizenship

Nestor Alfred, CEO of Saint Lucia’s citizenship by investment unit, says he is so cautious about which applicants he approves that it is making the Saint Lucia CIP less competitive than other programs in the region. And that’s OK. The Saint Lucia CIP’s application volume is considerably lower than that of competing Caribbean jurisdictions. On

Cyprus’ Council of Ministers yesterday announced several significant amendments to the country’s Citizenship by Investment Programme. The changes include capping the number of naturalizations at 700 a year, changing the program’s official name, and tightening due diligence. The cap on applications will come into effect already this year, according to the Cyprus Mail. The article

Malta’s budget surplus in 2017 reached €438.6 million, or an astonishing 3.9% of GDP, higher than any other EU country, and fourth highest in the world. In the year from July 2016 to the end of June 2017, the Malta Individual Investor Programme (MIIP) raised €394.1 million (3.72% of GDP). Accounting for 90% of the difference, the